1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrodes for a stimulating medical device, and more particularly, to a conformal electrode pad for a stimulating medical device.
2. Related Art
There are several types of stimulating medical devices that use electrical signals to activate nerve or other tissue fibers in a patient to stimulate an activity or response. One type of such medical devices is the prosthetic hearing device. Prosthetic hearing devices are generally utilized to benefit individuals in which hearing has completely failed due to accident, illness or other effect or condition, or in which hearing is congenitally nonfunctional.
Prosthetic hearing devices apply one or more stimulation signals to the cochlea or auditory brainstem nucleus of a recipient to stimulate hearing. Such devices generally include a microphone that receives ambient sounds and a signal processor implementing a speech strategy which converts selected ambient sounds into corresponding stimulation signals. The signal processor controls an implanted unit to transmit the stimulation signals along an electrode array implanted within the recipient.
One such prosthetic hearing implant is a Cochlear™ implant (commonly referred to as Cochlear™ devices, Cochlear™ implant systems, and the like; hereinafter “cochlear implant”). Cochlear implants may be used when the inner ear (cochlea) is nonfunctional, but the neural auditory path which leads from the cochlea to the brain, is functional. Cochlear implants include an electrode array which is implanted in the cochlea to stimulate auditory nerves with electrical signals to produce a hearing sensation which can lead to speech comprehension.
Another type of implantable prosthetic hearing device is the auditory brainstem implant (ABI). The electrode array of an ABI is surgically implanted in the brain of a hearing impaired person who has damage to, or is lacking, the auditory nerves that carry the sound signals from the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus. The ABI electrode array contains electrodes that are carried on a pad which is placed on the cochlear nucleus of the auditory brainstem. This positioning enables the electrodes to stimulate acoustic nerves by means of electrical signals.
Conventional ABIs typically include an external speech processor that processes analog signals provided by one or more microphones that receive sound present in the recipient's environment. The speech processor generates coded signals which are transcutaneously provided to an implanted stimulator unit to cause the stimulator to deliver stimulation signals via the implanted electrodes.